


I'd make an adorable furby

by DefendersofMCUniverse (GeekMom13)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Could be read as self harm, Hanahaki Disease, Language of Flowers, M/M, Moderate to Heavy Angst, References to 1990s haunted toy, because he does plan to ignore the disease, healing pod fuckery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekMom13/pseuds/DefendersofMCUniverse
Summary: Coran wrapped him in a hug. “My boy, you are blessed!”“This,” Lance scowled, “does not feel like a blessing.”“Oh, but it is. You must understand, it is a gift from the ancient ones. These petals signify a powerful heart bond.”
Relationships: Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 132
Collections: Ixnael’s Recommendations, Ixnael’s SFW corner





	I'd make an adorable furby

**Author's Note:**

> Fun note: this story caused the birth of [Furbiro](https://geekmom13.tumblr.com/post/183432782319/i-present-furbiro) and [Furbance.](https://geekmom13.tumblr.com/post/183599788254/geekmom13-i-present-furbiro-and-now)  
> Other fun note: I was told I needed to name this something that wasn't the name it is posted with.  
> So originally, this was titled "Rustling Unrest."

Healing pods were amazing.

Lance was the first on the team to sing their praises; he loved that they were so quick to fix everyone up. Injuries that could have ended a career on Earth were fixed in a matter of hours on the castle ship. You just climb in, it would lull you to sleep in any state and woke up perfectly healthy- if a little cold. 

Not that it was a perfect process.

Hunk still occasionally broke things from the strength boost he got when the pod treated him as if he were Gyrgan. It had been the first shock to everyone. Hunk looked mostly the same, though he complained clothes seemed a little small now. The next time he needed a healing pod, he had been in human clothing, and the reading returned a mix of human and Rygnirath. The initial assumption was the Lions had affected them through the bonding. 

Pidge had already been so in-tune with the technology that her changes went unnoticed for longer. That was the point where they made the connection- the healing pods fixed you up, but they were fixing up _a paladin that didn’t match._ The pods were programmed to take particular objects and skip the scan for species. 

So when Hunk had entered in full armor after a battle had messed up his arm, the pods tried to fix him how they had fixed Gyrgan in the first part of this war… and Hunk ended up with muscles similar to the former Yellow Paladin. 

Allura hadn’t had time (or spare quintessence) to sort out the recognition protocols yet, so- no more Paladin armor in the pods, no more added traits. She pursed her lips at first- scans to identify the species could slow the process enough to cost a life in war. But sorting the programming took a lot of time that they didn’t have, _especially_ with the new mixed species. 

In the end, they had all agreed to _only_ allow the chance of errors should there be a danger of dying.

Lance ended up being the first shoved into the pods in his armor shortly after he took over flying Red. She had pitched a fit about him showing up in Blue’s armor, and they wasted a training day trying to make Red drop her particle barrier- something she only did once everyone had their _proper_ armor. Her tantrum might have actually saved his life- there's no telling how compatible he would have been with the former Blue paladin's genetics.

Coran had spent the entire night after Red’s lock-down talking about the many things Alfor had done to upset her in his stead as the Red Paladin. She had always been a persnickety lion, locking down in non-emergencies for things like untidiness. She had even dropped him off at the castle and flew alone when he _dared_ imply that she was the reason a maneuver had failed. 

“At least he didn’t have to jump into an airlock to win her over,” Keith pointed out.

“Not exactly, no. But one time, she did leave Alfor stranded with the yelmers.”

Lance had felt much better after that, happily bribing Red with small tokens from each new planet they encountered. He wasn’t sure where all the gifts went or even if they helped, but she didn’t lock him out again.

It happened on what was supposed to be a simple mission- clear out an old base. They’d done it dozens of times. Lance had mistaken a Galra bot for Rover, turning his back and heading towards the Lions again.

Shiro found him as the bot let out a single shot clear through Lance’s chest, just under his white armor.

* * *

It took almost two days after that before the pod hissed open, Lance waking up as everyone ran over from Coran’s shouts. 

“Well, Number Three, how are you feeling?”

Lance moved around a little. “Fine, I think. What happened?”

Coran guided him to the chair, as Shiro explained. “We were headed back to our lions, and you just let the bot go, it was right there,” his voice tensed at the end.

“I thought it was Rover,” Lance started but was cut off by a coughing fit. He looked away from Shiro; he couldn’t stand the disappointment so soon after crawling back into consciousness 

Coran pat his back a bit. “Your lung was pretty damaged; it will take a few ticks to adjust. If it’s still bothering you later, we’ll do some breathing exercises.”

Lance nodded, feeling along the torn undersuit and the bent armor. It didn’t feel like he had a scar, so that was good. Once everyone had gotten a chance to check him over, Lance was allowed to shower and head to bed.

He woke up to petals on his pillow. He must have been tired not to notice someone left him flowers. He carefully gathered them and put them onto his dresser- they looked like something from Earth almost. It was such a beautiful gesture, and he made a mental note to sort out who needed to be thanked later.

His chest was still a bit tight; he couldn’t take a deep breath without wanting to cough. He sent a note to Coran- this wouldn’t work for training. Lance tried to stretch the best he could until his breath gave out. At breakfast, he discovered that laughter hurt, too. Hunk was talking about the reaction they had to a spice they had found- Keith had been the only one not hiccupping bubbles after lunch.

Coran had taken him to one of the smaller rooms right after, it was lined with soft cushions and had a view of the stars they were floating past.

“Okay, Number Three, breathe with me. We’ll slowly take bigger breaths.”

Lance nodded. “Thanks.”

“Of course, this is how I help! Now, in for eight tics, then out for four.”

Lance followed along, enjoying the stars as Coran instructed him. They were doing good until Lance lost focus after a few rounds and started coughing again. There was something stuck in his throat this time, though. As it worked its way out, some of the tightness in his chest loosened. Then his heart dropped. _Petals_ were coming out of his mouth.

And this time, he recognized them- white violets.

“Why are there flowers?” Lance shrieked, resulting in another coughing fit and more petals pouring out of his mouth.

“Oh, Ancients!”

Lance was curled up. “Holy crow, that hurt.”

Coran wrapped him in a hug, gently rubbing his back. “My boy, you are blessed!”

“This,” Lance scowled, “does not feel like a blessing.”

“Oh, but it is. You must understand, it is a gift from the ancient ones. These petals signify a powerful heart bond.” Coran was looking at the beautiful petals that somehow hadn’t crumpled as they came out.

“Heart bond?”

“Better to show you, my boy.”

Coran helped him up and dragged him to another room- luckily not too far away. The coughing fit had left Lance dizzy and sore. When the lights slowly pulled up in the room, and he was staring at a hologram of a woman who looked eerily like Allura.

“Melenor,” Coran greeted the image, “I have someone here for you to meet.”

“Greetings,” the hologram offer a small bow.

Lance returned the bow stiffly, trying to focus on steady breaths and not the pain he was in.

“This is Lance, he has piloted both Blue and now Red.”

The hologram smiled. “A man of both strong heart and deep compassion. Able to move freely through water and fire.”

Lance blushed at that. “I’m not so sure about that much. Humans and fire don’t mix so well.”

She smiled as Coran continued. “As wonderful as _that_ news is, I brought him here for another purpose,” he held up the flowers. “Lance here has been blessed.”

Lance frowned a bit at that; he still wasn’t sure how it was a good thing.

“I don’t recognize these,” Melenor leaned closer to the flowers as Coran held them up, “can you tell me about them?”

Lance sat on the floor. “It’s a white violet.”

He rubbed it a bit, avoiding looking at Coran.

“Mama always said that they were powerful,” he pitched his voice to imitate his mother, _”Bring a man or a demon to his knees, this one can.”_ Lance took a shuddering breath after, “she told me it could keep a spirit away, heal a broken heart, or send away nightmares.”

Melenor scoffed. “Was there more? Normally the ancients gave a sign of how your love would make themselves known.”

Lance wiped away a tear, crumpling the petals and tossing them on the ground. “I’m pretty sure _broken heart_ says it all.”

“My boy,” Coran sat next to him and dropped an arm around his shoulders, “the ancients never get it wrong.”

Lance shook his head, crying more.

“Tell me more,” Melenor probed, “would you give this only to spirits? If it was given in a bundle, would it simply be a wish of peaceful rest?”

Lance looked up. “No, it means a chance of happiness.”

Melenor smiled. “Now that sounds more like it.”

Coran looked at the petals. “Normally we would make teas of the same plant to soothe the journey-”

“Nope. I am not drinking tea made from my weird lung flowers. Nope, no way, not happening.”

Coran swept some of the petals into his hand. “It would help with -”

“Nope. I will not drink if it came out of my lungs.”

Melenor laughed. “The castle should be able to help with that; it is rather good with gardening after all.”

“Hunk is going to be _so_ upset you didn’t tell him that.”

* * *

Coran had tried to guess who Lance’s heart bond was many times over the next few days, but being from a big family, he had a good poker face. He just needed to pretend he was hiding the last chocolate bar. The castle was slowly trying to recreate the plant from the petals Lance would cough up randomly. _After,_ Lance thought, _after these grow, we can take some time to make new Earth food._

Lance had figured out that this little _blessing_ was far from it. He was in pain because his heart already belonged to someone, and they didn’t know it. The stupid petals were trying to force him to confess. The more he learned about the Altean blessing, the more he realized it was just a disease they saw with rose glasses.

The few other species that experienced it called it hanahaki.

It was a thing that only happened in species that could shapeshift _and_ had magic. The ability to adapt meant that the lungs were able to grow things. And the magic read the heart’s desires and twisted them. 

He _had_ considered telling Shiro, but then he woke up in the middle of the night, unable to breathe. He made his way to the kitchen, hoping a little water could help calm the urge to claw at his throat. 

Instead, he found Hunk and Shiro curled up on the couch in the den, a cake baking in the oven. The timer was going off, and Lance panicked, shutting it down and pulling out the cake. The last thing he needed was to be caught like this by them. 

He had no reason to be up so late. 

_Shiro would find out._ And that just wasn’t an option anymore. Hunk rarely let anyone into the kitchen for his middle of the night stress bakes. 

Lance downed a pouch of water and tried to convince his heart that the best thing was seeing the one he loved happy with his best friend. The plants would be fully grown soon, and he could sip tea until his lungs gave out. Hopefully, he could keep his secret up until the end. 

He shut down the kitchen and dimmed the lights before heading to the healing pods. Coran would likely lecture him again in the morning, but he’d rather get _some_ sleep than none at all. 

* * *

Lance looked out at the stars, finding some that reminded him of home.

He made out a small W in the stars, remembering staring up at it when he got to the Garrison. It might not be _their_ Cassiopeia, but he still felt connected to his family looking at it. “Mama, I don’t know what to do,” he clasped the last set of flowers he had coughed up. “He’s so happy with Hunk. I can’t… I can’t do what they want me to.”

He felt the silky petals between his fingers, growing larger each attack.

He already knew what waited for him. His lungs would slowly fill- though it would fill quicker the more he kept hidden. If he could confess a brotherly love, he’d buy himself time. If he drank a medicinal tea of the same flower he grew, it would alleviate pain and slow the growth. He knew healing pods could help a little- when they weren’t confused by his species.

Hunk had it _so easy_ with his weird strength.

Lance shook his head at the thought. He didn’t wish for his best friend to struggle with anything; just like he didn’t want Shiro to. He looked back up to the stars and crumbled the nearly full bloom. “I guess that’s it. I won’t tell. I’ll hold on as long as I can and try to make you all proud. I hope you all know I love you.”

He could feel the pressure in his chest react to the decision. A rustling unrest took hold, his body fighting to stay alive as his heart’s choice was to die. If he did possess any magic now, it was confused. The next morning he had his first full blossom. He passed it along to Coran for the castle to analyze.

He started to make lists of everything he needed to do. Letters for everyone to get when his body gave up to the desires of his heart, a clean room (except the blooms)... and a goodbye bath for Red while he could still manage. 

Allura found him looking out the same window after breakfast. “You seem quiet lately.”

“Just been thinking, Princess.”

“I highly doubt that,” she laughed, “you’re hiding something, you and Coran. Constantly whispering.”

Lance offered her a half-smile. “Yeah. We are.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll share?”

Lance looked over. He had considered who would be safe to tell since his decision. “As Coran says, I’ve been blessed by the ancients; if you know what that means.”

He watched as she smiled and clasped her hands- so excited. “Oh, that is _wonderful,_ Lance. Have you found your heart bond yet?”

Lance looked out the window, if he told them it was Shiro, they would insist he confess, and that could ruin what happiness he found with Hunk. “I know who it is.”

“Oh! That’s-”

Lance cut her off. “I can’t exactly tell him, though.”

“Why ever not?”

Lance looked out the window, searching for the strength he found in Cassiopeia. “It’s too late for that, Princess.”

He traced the W before turning away from the window and smiling at her. “But that’s okay; we _do_ have an extra Paladin now that you’re flying my girl, Blue.”

He turned away before he could see her expression drop. He could do this; it was the best option. Keith would return to Red, Shiro would be back in Black, Allura would keep Blue.

And he’d become stardust.

* * *

They had been called into battle a few days after that- and Lance found a new thing that eased his symptoms. Keith had been on a mission with the BoM when the alarm blared- Black happily allowing Shiro to fly her again.

When they formed Voltron, the pressure in his chest eased to the point where he could barely feel the petals fluttering in his lungs. The connection directly to Shiro, reaching in with the lions’ magic, was enough to make his body relax. He could pretend the love from Shiro was his, even if Lance knew he wasn’t the one Shiro was cooking with at midnight.

Lance was cheering and laughing like his old self quickly.

Allura had kept glancing at her screens throughout- growling halfway through about needing to have a serious talk with Lance. He started thinking of ways to avoid it. When they broke formation, he quickly realized that he wouldn’t need to.

The flowers flooded back in suddenly, choking him and gripping his lungs tight. Lance begged Red to get them home and curled over in the seat, coughing up flower after flower as Red used all the speed she possessed, sending a distress signal to the castle along the way.

Coran was waiting in the hangar as Red landed, dipping her head to let him fetch Lance.

"Number Three, do we need to get you into the pods right away?"

Lance let Coran guide him from the pilot's seat, shakey and gasping for breath. "Not just yet. I can change."

"Red seemed-"

"Red knew I needed a shoulder to lean on." 

There was a rumble around them, and Coran narrowed his eyes at Lance, considering calling him out.

Lance rubbed one of the walls. "I know, girl. I know."

"If you're sure." 

Lance nodded, and they made their way to Lance's room, dropping him onto the bed and turning to give Lance privacy. "Number Three, it's progressing rather fast. The blessing usually gives a better chance-"

"Well," Lance cut him off, he really didn't want this conversation. "I suppose it's different with me being human and all." 

Coran hummed at that. "You may be right, my boy." 

"Well, I'm also ready, so let's head to the med bay." The blooms were calm for now, so it would be a good time to move, and hopefully, the sleep would be restful for once.

He just hoped he could control the shapeshifting this time and not confuse the pod. He really needed to have his lungs patched a little. There was still so much left to do! He hadn't gotten the letters for all his family done yet. 

They were cut off by a furious Princess. “You _lied_ to me.”

Lance laughed, choking a bit on flowers. “I didn’t.”

“You let me think he was on Earth still! How _could you, Lance?”_

Coran gasped, letting Lance slip free from his arm.

“I just said it was too late,” he braced himself against the wall, “you assumed it was-”

“How could you turn your back on such a blessing?” Coran seemed hurt, _great._

Lance sagged a bit and turned to Coran, speaking softly. “You know no one else thinks that, right?”

Allura glared at him. “Are you saying my parents _lied?”_

“Allura, I’m sure he didn’t mean that.”

Lance started coughing again, the flowers still trying to reach some order in his chest after the powerful link with Shiro was made and ripped away. He collapsed on the floor- maybe he _was_ dying now. On the floor in the hallway. A little less dignified than he had hoped for.

“Lance,” Allura lunged forward, “you must tell me. Is it Hunk or Shiro?”

Lance tried not to react, but Allura was gone before he could deny it. Coran helped him into the pod and started the scan. Lance leaned against the glass, trying to summon whatever he could to control the unrest in him. He had barely begun to learn the feel of his new magic, and he was crying as he let the magic shuffle the blooms flat against one another, trying to force space into his lungs.

He wondered if the look on Coran’s face meant he wasn’t genuinely human anymore- like Hunk. Lance could feel the pod’s magic prickling over his skin- that was new. Usually, he could barely feel the cold from the pods. He closed his eyes and let the feeling wash over him, wishing he could have felt this sooner.

It was like that first dive into the ocean off the pier. A splash and rush of cold waking up every small bit of skin, feeling truly alive. He was brought from his thoughts by a thump on the glass- Shiro was there.

Lance held his right hand against the glass, smiling before the scan irritated his lungs. He doubled over as much as he could in the pod, petals, and blossoms tumbling from his lips and clinging to him. It was his longest fit, and he was starting to wonder if these would be his last moments. He was so close to blacking out when the pressure broke. He took a few broken breaths, feeling almost as good as he had when they formed Voltron.

When he opened his eyes again, Shiro was standing there, crying and hitting his fist against the glass, pausing mid-swing when he saw Lance look up. Once Lance was able to breathe, the pod slipped open, Lance collapsing into Shiro’s arms.

“Has anyone ever told you the moon’s got nothing on the shine of the stars in your eyes?” Lance smiled up at Shiro. He’d need to apologize later, but the smile on Shiro’s face was worth it.

Shiro started laughing as Coran cleared his throat. “I believe you’ll be fine for a long while now. The main blockage cleared up, and we’ll have your tea steeped soon.”

Lance smiled and clasped Coran’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“We might talk later on the results of your scan, though.” The look on Coran’s face made it clear that wouldn’t be the _only_ thing they’d be talking about. “If this is correct, you might be a shifter, my boy!”

Lance let out a pained laugh and nodded- the research from the Bryxnar had told him as much. Not to mention his own experiences as he spent more time in the pods. “A bit of magic, too. The pod keeps getting confused, so I started to research.”

Coran startled a bit at that but nodded and turned back to the screen, flicking a few results out of the way and looking shocked. “We can work on some training, then. But for now, you get him to rest, Number One. I’m putting you in charge of his recovery.”

“Coran,” Lance croaked out, “that’s not-”

“You, my boy, have no say in this. Now off you go.”

Lance sagged but accepted his new caretaker. He was still sore from the battle and the coughing fit, and he was covered in sweat and crusted in blooms of his 'blessing'. Shiro guided him out towards their rooms, keeping the pace slow and not letting go of Lance’s waist.

“Allura told me a bit about what happened, but Lance, I need to know more.”

Lance nodded, but when he went to speak he throat protested, raw from the coughing. “You first.”

Shiro placed a hand on the lock, guiding Lance into his own room when the door slid open. He let Lance shower off and inhale some steam, running to grab the pajamas from Lance’s room while he cleaned off, avoiding everyone else in the halls, hoping Coran had told them there was nothing to worry about. Shiro hoped that was the truth now.

When he got back, Lance was already sitting on his bed with a datapad- wearing Shiro’s robe. Shiro smiled at how comfortable Lance already looked, glad that he wouldn’t argue about staying here until the effects passed (or at least stay for a short time). From what Allura had said, Lance returned his feelings, some ancient Altean thing happened, and Lance was dying. It was odd to see him so relaxed after seeing him in the pod, flowers bursting past his hands as he coughed. Shiro shook off the thought, heading into the bathroom to change.

Lance took that chance to grab his own clothes, slipping the pants under Shiro’s robe, not bothering to take it off.

When Shiro finished, he sat on the edge of the bed and smiled over to Lance. He took a breath and quickly explained the little Allura had blurted out before he ran towards the pod. Lance described the rest, the things he learned from research into the actual disease instead of the _miraculous blessing_ of the Altean lungs.

Shiro had crawled next to Lance halfway through, pulling him close and kissing the top of his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lance pulled away at that, almost tumbling off the bed. “Oh holy crow, _Hunk,_ how could I forget Hunk?” he glared at Shiro, “HOW COULD YOU FORGET HUNK?”

“Hunk?”

“Yellow Paladin, your quiznaking _boyfriend?”_

Shiro shook his head. “Why… do you think that?”

“You’re always laughing together, and every time I went to the kitchen at night- you were both there, and he’s constantly bringing you food! And I mean- you were walking around last week, basically cuddling!”

“Lance, Hunk is overprotective of _all of us.”_

Lance shrugged, pulling his legs into his chest and blushing.

“Well, we’re not dating. And I liked holding you, so come pout over _here.”_

Lance grumbled a bit but settled against Shiro, mumbling about how happy he had been for both of them, even before the whole mixup happened with the healing pod. Hunk had been the one who was always there for Lance. So he didn’t mind giving up his love for that.

Shiro kissed his forehead after that. “Tell me something no one knows about you.”

Lance took a deep breath, enjoying the lack of rustling in his chest. “I love you.”

Shiro gently pulled Lance to face him, placing a small kiss on his lips. “I’m pretty sure I love you, too, but I said something _no one_ knows. Allura and Coran seem to know that secret already.”

Lance blushed, even though Shiro wasn’t sure, that knocked loose a bit more of the pressure. Maybe there was something to this whole _blessing_ thing. “I used to try to bribe crabs to talk to mermaids for me. I would leave forks near the water. I didn’t realize it was the tide taking them away until I was about eight.”

Shiro laughed a bit, pulling Lance closer.

“Your turn.”

“I’m not sure what to say,” Shiro hummed a little song while he thought.

“Something embarrassing.”

“Yours was not embarrassing; it was cute.”

“Debatable. Come on; there’s gotta be something in there no one knows.”

“Well,” Shiro let out a small sound, “I used to have this weird toy. The fur looked like someone took a tub of rainbow sherbet and turned it into a fuzzy mess. There was a white tuft of fur on its head.”

Lance looked up at him. “What toy?”

Shiro grimaced a bit. “A Furby- super creepy, especially when a battery exploded inside, and it was half dead. But anyway. I loved that thing. I managed to find another when I went to the Garrison, one that didn’t randomly ask to be fed in the middle of the night. It’s probably still with all my stuff.”

“I think I remember those. Veronica said they were eviler than Chucky.”

Shiro laughed. “I am going to agree. They’re terrifying, but I loved mine. But the secret- the first time I saw my reflection after you all rescued me… All I could think of was _that thing._ How I looked like the dying Furby groaning out feeeeeed meeeeeee in the middle of the night.”

Lance burst out laughing, able to fully enjoy the feeling for the first time in weeks. No coughing to cut him off. _“That_ is not true. You are not creepy enough.”

Shiro pulled Lance down next to him, covering them with a blanket. “I don’t know- I think I’d make an _adorable_ Furby.”

**Author's Note:**

> kicking off 2020 by releasing some pain.


End file.
